Aircooled wankbeetle collection

[dollywobbler]

While condensers are bloody useless these days, they generally tend to cause misfires when they've failed, not complete failure to run. Have you got a spark at the points? 

[garethj]

Have you got the John Muir book? There's a handy part about checking the condenser

[derskine]

While condensers are bloody useless these days, they generally tend to cause misfires when they've failed, not complete failure to run. Have you got a spark at the points? 

 

Yep, got spark at the points, discovered that when one of the cap clips managed to touch them!

The thing is it will run, albeit pretty terribly and not on all 4 cylinders, if I set the points gap to 2mm or something.

[derskine]

Have you got the John Murray book? There's a handy part about checking the condenser

 

Nope?

[alf892]

She's nae a runner still.

I ensured firing order was correct to that diagram, set points to 0.4mm.

I popped the cyl 1 + 2 rocker cover off, turned engine to TDC and ensured both valves on cyl 1 were closed.

Next I removed the dizzy cap and aligned the notch on the casing to the centre of the rotor arm.

I then connected a test lamp between earth and the neg side of the coil, the bulb lit up, but no matter where I turned the dizzy, the lamp would stay on.

I have also checked that the points are opening up and closing.

 

Confused!

Looks like fault to earth (if points are opening and closing)..........check wire from coil to points but also check actual points visually and with meter.

 

Meter condenser to see if it going straight to earth.

[derskine]

Did actually notice the insulation on the condenser wire is a bit chafed, perhaps the spark is jumping to the distributor body?

[Vince70]

Is the beetle running on fresh juice..

 

My current daily drive had only done 500 miles in the last 5 years and it ran like shite and was misfiring something terrible and most of the time it seemed to only run on three cylinders for the first week or so till I managed to get enough fresh fuel through the lines..

[derskine]

I did put some new fuel in, but I don't know how much old fuel was in it, so that could be a potential.

[DodgyBastard]

The number plate light is on so you'll probably come back to a drained battery...

[derskine]

Could you pull the battery lead off? it's fucking shit, the number plate light comes on when you open the bonnet.

[derskine]

 

Fixed it, started from scratch, set points gap, put engine to 7.5 BTDC, popped 1+2 valve cover off, check that 1 inlet and exhaust were closed and set dizzy. The previous owner to my mate had set the timing 180 out.

Still need to get a strobe on it, but at least it's running on 4 now.

[derskine]

Here's the crap part.

 

[PhillipM]

If it's any consolation, I've just finished rewiring behind my dashboard:

 

Okay, it's no consolation at all, I just wanted to be a smug bastard. Carry on.

[Pillock]

I'm pretty sure they came from the factory like that. Scotchlocks were invented by Germans as payback for losing the war, originally called SKOTCHENLOK which translates as "years of misery".

[derskine]

If it's any consolation, I've just finished rewiring behind my dashboard:

 

Dashnearlydone.jpg

 

Okay, it's no consolation at all, I just wanted to be a smug bastard. Carry on.

 

Mine will never be that neat, it will be a functional midden however.

 

 

I'm pretty sure they came from the factory like that. Scotchlocks were invented by Germans as payback for losing the war, originally called SKOTCHENLOK which translates as "years of misery".

 

There's scotch blocks all over the place, I've already removed a few and replaced them with solder sleeves.

[vulgalour]

I do like that little chirrup the Beetle engine has, one of the most appealing things about them.

[Guest Mac]

My apologies for a threadjack!

 

On "another" forum I buy a part and pay immediately - the "seller" gives me a tracking code which is promptly cancelled "not collected - pick up no longer required". Three weeks on and all attempts to contact seller have failed to evoke a reply.

Courtesy restrains me from naming him just at the moment (but he's a regular here) so at present I will just say -

 

You know who you are - where's my ffffffffing carb? - how about doing me a courtesy and letting me know WTF is going on.

 

A grumpy Mollusk.

[derskine]

Yep, I really like the sound of them too.

[dollywobbler]

They really do actually sound like a Beetle. So nice to hear one that still does.

[Guest Mac]

PM rec'd - commendably rapid response - all understood.

We'll start over.

 

Mac.